But perhaps the biggest story on Goat Hill –- biggest long-term, anyway –- moved ahead this week, though it was with much less fanfare. Dana Beyerle, of The Tuscaloosa News and other associated newspapers, was on hand as legisla-tors began their discussions about reapportionment.
Remember reapportionment? It’s the process, undertaken every 10 years, to make legislative districts match the new census numbers, so that every voter gets more or less equal representation. As any high school civics student knows, the way you draw the districts can determine the outcome of elections in those districts for years to come. In reap-portionment hearings, legislators are dealing with the raw stuff of political power, and they behave accordingly. In other words, it’s brass-knuckle time.
So far, the Reapportionment Committee hasn’t produced any epic battles. But the first meeting didn’t go all that well.
The Tuscaloosa News – Confusion reigns over committee
